Wire grip



Sept 22, 1925. 7 19554 890 W I. SQN-NER WIRE GRIP Filed April 14, 1925Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

WIRE GRIP.

Application filed .April, 14, 1925. fierial-1 To. 23,065.=

T0 1 all av hom it m (by 'OOHCQWZ I Be it known that L-VVI-LLIAM 1.SoNNnn, acitizen of the United States, residingwat Fairfield, in thecounty of Camas and State of ldaho, have invented a certain newanduseful Improvement in ire Grips, of.

which :the followingv is a full, clear, and

exact description.

The object of'this invention. is to provide.

a gripping device for use in placinguor positioning or handling wire,whether I in single strands, or cable form, or: fabricated, and whetherbarbed or plain, said gripping device being' capable of use inconnection with any suitable stretcher.

For convenience, the invention is designated a wire grip.

The invention consists of a pair of jaws having gripping facesconstructed to engage the kind of wire to be gripped, or handled, andhandle elements on said jaws, said jaws being linked together pivotallyso that the wire-engaging faces may be brought into opposition to graspbetween them wires of different gauge or kind and to hold the wiresfirmly against pulling strains thereon, as I will proceed now to explainand finally claim.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, in the severalfigures of' which like parts are similarly designated. Figure 1 is aside elevation showing in long broken lines a length of wire interposedbetween a-nd gripped by the jaws, and also showing in short dotted linesthe adaptability of the jaws to wires of different gauge. Fig. 2 is aside elevation, showing the jaws separated to permit the introduction orrelease of the wire. Fig. 3 is a top plan view. Fig. l is a sideelevation with the handle of the upper jaw broken away and showing thelower jaw eccentrically pivoted.

The aw 1 is shown as having the substantially straight serrated orroughened gripping face 2, at one end, and the hook 3 at the other end.This hook may be used in connection with any suitable stretching means.The other jaw has the handle 4. and the serrated or roughened grippingface 5. These jaws are pivotally mounted on a connecting link 6, by thepivots 7 and 8, respectively, so that the jaws may be moved as desiredand their relative positions changed by changing the angularity of thelink 6 with relation to either of them and to admit of the apprpach of.the gripping faces of the jaws whenflappliedto a wire and put-unders.

strain.

It will be observed that the wire is introduced between thegrippingfacesof the. jaws by a movement at righttangles to. the. jaws as they areillustrated in. Figs. .1, 2.and Or the device maybe" applied to a wirebymovementof the device 4. 0f the drawings.

toward the wire, and when the rwirewis. be-

tween the jaws, it. is engagedby them by turninguthe .lOWGI FLW from theposition.

shown in Fig. 2 to the :position shown-yin 1'. Release of the. devicefrom thewire 1s by reverse movement.

It will be understood that both jaws are.

moved into wire-engaging position, so that a firm grip is had on thewire and the strain of pulling is equally distributed on opposite facesof the wire.

As is evident, the toothed or roughened faces of the jaws may berenewed, by filing or otherwise, and as clearly indicated in Fig. 2, thewhole of the toothed or roughened face of the lower jar is capable ofbelng exposed for this purpose, while the greater portion of the toothedor roughened face of the upper jaw may be similarly exposed by turningit upon its pivot 7.

It will be noticed that both jaws are close ly alined with theconnecting link 6, so that this link not only serves as a carrier forthe jaws, but also aids in keeping the aws in alinement.

It will be noted also that the upperjaw is offset from the lower jaw andthereby plenty of room is afforded for handling the device and forhandling the wire.

hen the jaws are arranged as in Fig. 2 to receive a wire an d the lowerjaw is turned into position, Fig. 1, the wire will be firmly grippedwhile the operator is busied with arranging the stretching mechanism.

When the stretching is done and power released, a light blow, with thehand or some implement on the lower jaw will drive it back into theposition indicated in 2, to release the wire, but a blow on the hook 3will accomplish the same result equally well, if not better.

The gripping faces shown are suitable for plain or barbed wire, but forlarge smooth wire or cable, these faces might be grooved. In otherwords, the gripping faces will be provided with teeth, corrugations orgrooves, gr fluted or milled to suit the work to be It might bedesirable, as illustrated in Fig. 4, to pivot the lower jaw to the linkeccentrically, as indicated at 9, to facilitate the placing andreleasing of the wire.

By providing the gripping faces with teeth, corrugations, grooves,flutes or milling, both sides of the wire are held and the strain,therefore, on the device equally distributed, and moreover, there is notendency to crush the wire, as would be the caseif only one jaw wereroughened.

The device may be used wit-h any usual or approved form of stretcher, orpulled with any kind of power applied to the hook, for purposes ofstretching barbed wire, smooth wire, strands of woven stock wire,telegraph or telephone wire, or wire cable.

Variations in the details of construction are within the principle ofthe invention as herein explained and as hereinafter claimed.

WVhat I claim is 1. A wire grip, having a pair of jaws prothe grippingfaces whereby wires of different gauge or kind may be engaged and held,

and said lower jaw provided with a handle for operating it.

2. A wire grip, having a pair of jaws provided with wire-gripping faces,and a relatively movable link to which the jaws are pivoted on the sameside of the link, one'of the jaws movable. with relation to the other tovary the proximity of the gripping faces, said movable jaw having ahandle for operating it, said jaws capable of' movement to expose theirgripping faces for resurfacing said faces.

In testimony whereof 'I' have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of AprilA. D,'1925.

' WILLIAM I. ,SONNER.

